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Paganism: Religions
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Paganism is a general term which is usually understood as denoting any religious act, practice or ceremony which is not Christian. Anyone practicing paganism is usually known as a pagan. The word pagan comes from the Latin word paganus which means a country dweller. As Christianity grew the term pagan took on a different definition and unsavory connotations. Gradually a pagan referred to anyone not being a Christian; and paganism came to mean a non-Christian belief or religion. The Christian Church has vigorously attempted to eradicate it by implying that pagans are unsophisticated, uneducated and worship false gods.
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Paganism is the world's oldest known religion. Its origins, though obscure, are believed to date back to Paleolithic times and arose from humanity's own desire to explore the unknown, and seek unity with the Divine Force. Paganism has no founder or founders, no earthly leaders, no prophets, no messiahs, and no saints. These early beginnings were based on a form of ancestor worship and were shamanic in nature.
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Paganism refers to a very broad set of religious beliefs and practices which are characterized by polytheism and less commonly animism. Many pagan religions are based on nature, and these are ... called nature-based religions. Paganism predates modern monotheism, although its origins are lost in prehistory. In one well-established sense, paganism is the belief in any non-monotheistic religion, and in this sense it is often used pejoratively by adherents to monotheistic religions (such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam) for adherents of non-monotheistic religions.
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The effect on Paganism is both degrading and encouraging. Firstly, there are more pagan people about, or people who adhere to pagan principles. Wicca is the fastest growing religion in American and has as many pagans as published writers. And this is not through recruiting, you’d have a hard time finding a pagan with a home made billboard proclaiming that the Goddess loves you as you walk by. Most people now realise that pagans, wiccans and witches do not worship the devil, or that they don’t even believe in it, the term witch has been used less and less by prominent pagans and new age writers, therefore dispelling the connotations that the word witch brings. Paganism has been pushed into the limelight, and has taken its staring role well, countless films, books and television shows are dedicated to the Craft, without mentioning a certain little boy with round glasses and fancy scar on his forehead.
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Paganism is an umbrella term for various nature religions. Paganism is more of a personal religion than most organized religions, as there is little, if any, distinction between the deity and the person. Most Pagans believe there is no need for an intermediary between him/herself and the supreme being(s). Pagan religions vary widely, from a belief that the Earth itself is God (or, more typically, Goddess) ranging on through a complex series of pantheons of gods. Many Pagans who worship a wide range of named deities tend to consider them aspects of the whole rather than each one a separate entity, but the range of Pagans and their beliefs makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact belief structure of this highly personalized religion.
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Although the common meaning of Paganism seems to imply atheism, a Pagan can worship any other god not common to the god of the Torah, the Bible or the Koran. This ... includes those who worshiped gods before the advent of the Judeo-Christian religions. As Mortimer Adler put it: "Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Cicero were Western pagans. The Western peoples of pre-Christian antiquity were all pagans in the sense defined. Many remained pagans during the early centuries of the Christian era; and from the 16th century on, the number of pagans living in communities that were predominantly Christian or Muslim has steadily increased." [Adler]
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